I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5911 

To amend Public Law 115–97 (commonly known as the Tax Cuts and 

Jobs Act) to repeal the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge oil and gas 

program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 22, 2018 

Mr. HUFFMAN (for himself, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. LOWENTHAL, 

and Mr. MCEACHIN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend Public Law 115–97 (commonly known as the 

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) to repeal the Arctic National 

Wildlife Refuge oil and gas program, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Arctic Cultural and 

5 Coastal Plain Protection Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 5911 IH

1 (1) Americans cherish the continued existence 

2 of expansive, unspoiled wilderness ecosystems and 

3 wildlife found on their public lands and feel a strong 

4 moral responsibility to protect this wilderness herit5 age as an enduring resource to bequeath undis6 turbed to future generations of Americans. 

7 (2) It is widely believed by ecologists, wildlife 

8 scientists, public land specialists, and other experts 

9 that the wilderness ecosystem centered around and 

10 dependent upon the Arctic coastal plain of the Arctic 

11 National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, represents the 

12 very epitome of a primeval wilderness ecosystem and 

13 constitutes the greatest wilderness area and diversity 

14 of wildlife habitats of its kind in the United States. 

15 (3) President Dwight D. Eisenhower initiated 

16 protection of the wilderness values of the Arctic 

17 coastal plain in 1960 when he set aside 8,900,000 

18 acres establishing the Arctic National Wildlife Range 

19 expressly ‘‘for the purpose of preserving unique wild20 life, wilderness and recreational values’’. 

21 (4) When the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 

22 was established in 1980 by paragraph (2) of section 

23 303 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Con24 servation Act (Public Law 96–487; 94 Stat. 90; 23 

25 16 U.S.C. 668dd note), subparagraph (B) recogVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Jun 02, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5911.IH H5911

dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 5911 IH

1 nized the following four additional purposes of the 

2 Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: 

3 (A) ‘‘To conserve fish and wildlife popu4 lations and habitats in their natural diversity 

5 including the Porcupine caribou herd’’. 

6 (B) ‘‘To fulfill the international treaty obli7 gations for the United States with respect to 

8 fish and wildlife and their habitats’’. 

9 (C) ‘‘To provide . . . the opportunity for 

10 continued subsistence use by local residents’’. 

11 (D) ‘‘To ensure . . . water quality and 

12 quantity within the refuge’’. 

13 (5) A majority of Americans have supported 

14 and continue to support preserving and protecting 

15 the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, including the 

16 Arctic coastal plain, from any industrial development 

17 and consider oil and gas exploration and develop18 ment in particular to be incompatible with the pur19 poses for which this incomparable wilderness eco20 system has been set aside. 

21 (6) Canada has taken action to preserve those 

22 portions of the wilderness ecosystem of the Arctic 

23 that exist on its side of the international border and 

24 provides strong legal protection for the habitat of 

25 the Porcupine caribou herd that migrates annually 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 5911 IH

1 through both countries to calve on the Arctic coastal 

2 plain. 

3 (7) The Gwich’in people of eastern Alaska and 

4 Northwestern Canada have relied on the Porcupine 

5 caribou herd for millennia and caribou is a vital cul6 tural, spiritual, and nutritional resource for the 

7 Gwich’in. 

8 (8) The Arctic is being impacted by climate 

9 change at unprecedented levels. Temperatures are 

10 rising at twice the rate of the rest of the country, 

11 and wildlife and habitat that depend on the Arctic 

12 are being detrimentally impacted. 

13 (9) Title II, section 20001 of Public Law 115– 

14 97 (commonly known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) 

15 would allow an oil and gas program on the Coastal 

16 Plain. Oil and gas activities are not compatible with 

17 the protection of this national treasure. 

18 (10) Repeal of section 20001 would best protect 

19 the unspoiled ecosystem of the Coastal Plain, the 

20 human rights of the Gwich’in, and the integrity of 

21 the National Wildlife Refuge System. 

22 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

23 The Congress hereby declares that it is the policy of 

24 the United States— 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 5911 IH

1 (1) to honor the decades of bipartisan efforts 

2 that have increasingly protected the great wilderness 

3 ecosystem of the Arctic coastal plain; 

4 (2) to sustain this natural treasure for the cur5 rent generation of Americans; 

6 (3) to honor and respect the human rights of 

7 the Gwich’in; and 

8 (4) to do everything possible to protect and pre9 serve this magnificent natural ecosystem so that it 

10 may be bequeathed in its unspoiled natural condition 

11 to future generations of Americans. 

12 SEC. 4. REPEAL OF ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE 

13 OIL AND GAS PROGRAM. 

14 Section 20001 of Public Law 115–97 is hereby re15 pealed. 

Æ 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS